Office switched from single-use coffee pods to a shared drip setup and now I'm the accidental dish wrangler
I work in a regional energy policy office in the Northeast, and we're trying to cut down on day-to-day waste, not just the big grid stuff. Small victory: facilities agreed to stop buying single-use coffee pods and put in a basic drip machine with a reusable filter.
Problem is we do not have a real kitchen, just a sink in the copy room. Folks are fine bringing their own mugs, but the carafe, filter basket, and a couple communal spoons are now in limbo. If I leave them on the counter they get crusty. If I wash them, people start assuming I will always wash them. If I put out a towel to dry things, it gets moved or thrown away. We are trying to avoid paper towels, so that is another mini battle.
I do not want to shame coworkers. The pod habit was a system problem, not a moral failing. At the same time I do not want to go back to pods because the shared stuff turned gross.
Has anyone found a low-drama system for shared kitchen items in an office with almost no space? I'm thinking a simple rotating schedule, a small drying rack with a sign, or a bin labeled dirty versus clean. I would love ideas that use frictionless defaults instead of asking people to be saints.
Bonus question: any tips for keeping coffee grounds from turning into a sink clog without relying on disposable sink strainers?